Brisbane couple’s company folds after Meta AI banned accounts

Meta's AI destroyed a Brisbane family's $100,000 business over their child’s innocent pyjama photo, sparking their decision to join an international legal battle.

A Brisbane couple have lost their business and $100,000 after Meta’s AI systems falsely flagged a photo of their child as exploitation material.

Charlotte and Lewis Garwood watched their business fold after the tech giant’s systems flagged an innocent post from Charlotte’s personal account of their five-year-old stepdaughter as child sexual exploitation material.

As a result the couple had multiple accounts permanently disabled, and are now planning on joining a global class action lawsuit against Meta.

The couple's accounts were disabled when Ms Garwood posted a photo of her five-year-old stepdaughter online. Picture: Sky News

Ms Garwood said in the “blink of an eye” the couple’s business advertising platform, valuable data and the foundation of their company were erased.

“In a moment we lost everything connected to that page: my marketing business accounts, my client accounts, our business account, years of social proof, countless hours of hard work, sleepless nights, our savings, and even the money we set aside after our wedding and honeymoon,” she said.

“The culprit? An innocent photo of our child, completely covered in a red PJ Mask costume that didn’t follow community guidelines.”

Charlotte and Lewis Garwood. Picture: Sky News

Charlotte Garwood said in the “blink of an eye” the couple’s business advertising platform, valuable data and the foundation of their company were erased. Picture: Charlottegarwood.com

Despite efforts over six months to appeal the tech giant’s decision, including hundreds of emails to Meta support and reaching out directly to employees, nobody ever responded.

“My META account manager told me there was nothing she could do and never contacted me again without any help whatsoever,” Ms Garwood said.

Now the couple have flagged plans to join a class-action lawsuit against the tech giant led by US law firm Amicus Law PC.

Lawyer and Managing Shareholder at Amicus Law PC Wesley Cornwell is leading the lawsuit, which is pursuing damages through a breach of contract claim.

Charlotte and Lewis Garwood watched their business fold after the tech giant’s systems flagged a post from a personal account. Picture: Sky News

“Lost business opportunity, interference with business contracts, and also another way that we’re looking at compensation are individual users who have lost everything,” Mr Cornwell told Sky News.

“We’re looking for Meta to make actual changes to therapeutics process, make the team that’s making these decisions a little more accessible to users.

“You follow their terms of service, and then they just suspend you, or there’s no appeal, or there’s no way to reinstate it.”

Meta have been contacted for comment.

Originally published as Brisbane couple’s company folds after Meta AI banned accounts